The national chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator David Mark, has condemned statistics about increased revenue and economic growth touted by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government, saying such figures are meaningless if they do not positively affect people’s lives.
Mark made the remarks during the inauguration of the ADC’s 50-member committee to formulate the party’s manifesto and policy. He told party members they must be prepared not just to win power, but to justify it through service.
Dr. John Oyegun, chairman of the Policy and Manifesto Committee, urged any committee member who had reservations about the work to quietly step aside, saying Nigerians are watching everything the committee does. He added that the committee will design a manifesto acceptable to Nigerians and ensure that party officeholders do not become “emperors.”
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“In recent years, government has continued to regale us with statistics about increased revenue, economic growth and GDP performance,” Mark said. “These figures are meaningless when they do not positively affect the lives of the people. A growing economy that leaves the majority behind in poverty is fundamentally flawed. Economic progress must be measured by its impact on people’s lives, not by statistics alone.”
The former Senate president lamented that families across the country are working harder and earning less; food prices are rising faster than wages and incomes can cope. He said power supply remains epileptic even as tariffs increase astronomically, and that the APC government continues to aggravate citizens’ tax burdens. “Insecurity continues to disrupt the people’s social and economic life,” he added, saying Nigerians are suffering today perhaps more than at any other time in their history.
“The hardship and poverty that Nigerians are experiencing under the APC administration has gotten worse and has been compounded by needlessly vicious government policies,” Mark said. “What Nigerians are therefore desperately looking for are credible alternative ideas, actions and policies. They want policies that would improve their lives today and lay a solid foundation for the future. They want policies that show compassion.”
In his acceptance speech, Oyegun told committee members who feared the committee might veer “extremely left or extremely right” to step back now. Noting that history is being made, he said the committee must craft messages, policies and proposals that will attract Nigerians who have given up on the political system.
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“People haven’t fully thrown themselves into our net yet; they are watching everything we do,” Oyegun said. “The charge you have given us is to help the party develop policies and a manifesto that will make everybody in this country see, over time, the difference an ADC government can make to their lives. We will accept that charge.”
Oyegun warned that manifestos are often ignored once officeholders assume power. “We have spent trillions with very little to show in terms of the lives of the people,” he said. “Immediately a manifesto is written, it often goes straight into the archives. Too often, proposals are prepared by contractors and the profits are already shared by those with interests. Pressures are put on governors or presidential officials; projects are approved without regard to the original program or manifesto.”
He said the committee must therefore produce policies and programs the ordinary person can identify with. “With a manifesto presented in language the ordinary man can understand and see how he fits into it, we hope to change the dynamics of politics in this nation,” Oyegun said.
